The current Law on Employment stipulates that the monthly unemployment benefit is equal to 60 percent of their average monthly salaries of the six months before date of unemployment. However, the benefits must not be higher than five times the monthly regional minimum wage in the last month when unemployment insurance premiums were paid.

As the Law on Employment is under amendment, VGCL has proposed raising the monthly unemployment benefit to 75 percent of the monthly average salary based on which insurance premium was used.

Currently, most businesses pay unemployment insurance premiums based on regional minimum wages set by the government. The regional minimum wages are still low. Therefore, the unemployment benefits should be equal to at least 75 percent of salaries to be sure that benefits cover basic needs of unemployed laborers, VGCL said.

The labor confederation also said that laborers who pay unemployment insurance premiums and never enjoy unemployment benefits until they retire should be allowed to receive 50 percent of the money they have paid to the unemployment insurance fund.

It suggested a new rule under which from the 145th month onwards workers would additionally receive money equal to 0.1 month-unemployment benefit for every 12-month insurance premium payment.

However, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) wants to keep the current policies. It believes that 60 percent of wages is the minimum income to ease difficulties for redundant workers, under Vietnam’s conditions and international practice.

Unemployment insurance is short-term insurance that aims to share risk, so there is no need to change the current regulation, it said.

MOLISA also believes that it would be better to maintain the current regulation under which redundant workers can enjoy no more than 12-month unemployment benefits, or 144 months of unemployment insurance premium payments. It stressed that the regulation is in accordance with international practice and helps maintain the unemployment benefit fund.

Unemployment insurance aims to support workers when they lose jobs, and cannot replace all workers’ incomes for a period of more than 12 months.

The setting of a limited time for unemployed workers to enjoy benefits will encourage workers to quickly return to the labor market with other types of support, such as consultancy services and vocational training, the ministry said.

Tran Thuong